53 former wrestlers take WWE to court over lifelong injuries

Fifty three retired wrestlers have slammed the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) with a class action lawsuit for lifelong head injuries they suffered during years of fighting.

This is what we have been able to gather so far:

Those behind the lawsuit include legendary names like Paul Orndorff aka Mr. Wonderful, Joseph Laurinaitis aka Road Warrior Animal and Jimmy Snuka aka Superfly.

The entire list of plaintiffs, which also includes female wrestlers and referees, can be viewed here.

Their careers go back to as early as the 1970s.

WWE has prevailed over similar lawsuits in the past, but so many wrestlers coming together at the same time to seek compensation is going to test the WWE.

via GIPHY

In the 214-page petition, former wrestling stars said repeated blows to the head left them with lifelong neurological problems.

The lawsuit, dubbed as 'concussion', was filed in Connecticut on Monday.

WWE downplayed the effects of body slams and beatings wrestlers took in and out of the ring.

Laurinaitis, 55, the Road Warrior Animal, has had at least 11 surgeries from the cumulative effects of his wrestling career. He suffers from headaches, dizziness, loss of memory, and fatigue:

Many wrestlers suffer from a brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

They have multiple health issues ranging from dizziness, loss of memory to fatigue.

The petition says WWE put corporate gain before the health of its wrestlers who were given no health insurance, employee benefits or social security.

The lawsuit says the WWE has done everything in its power to hide that the disease exists among retired wrestlers.

Referees would not stop fights even when a wrestler was badly injured because they had to follow the script.

Many of the wrestlers only had high school degrees, some were even dropouts and did not know when to seek treatment of neurological injuries.

WWE is the world's biggest wrestling entertainment network which netted $659 million in 2015.

But its wrestlers are deprived of medical coverage.

WWE and its Chairman Vince McMahon used wrestlers as 'independent contractors' rather than employees as a means to bypass worker protection laws.

Orndorff aka Mr. Wonderful, 66, has been inducted in WWE's Hall of Fame. He wrestled Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. and was one of the fortunate ones who could afford disability insurance. But it expired when he turned 65 and now he relies on Medicare.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as improved medical monitoring.

WWE donates millions of dollars to the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) which tells wrestlers if their injuries are threatening.

Its research is stiffled, the lawsuit says.

Jimmy Snuka, 72, is remembered for the famous 1983 stunt when he leapt 15 feet off the top of metal cage in Madison Square Garden.